Howdy.
I've been mulling over a situation and I hope someone out there can share a
little of their experiences with me. I recently got my '64 back on the road
after several years of piddling around. When I bought the car, I just drove
it "as is" for a few months before putting it on jack stands and starting to
work on it. That was in San Antonio in the late summer and early fall of
'95, so the top was off and I never paid it any mind. Now I'm back on the
road, moved to Ohio, it's February (and cold, and rainy) and I've been using
the fabric top that came with it when I bought it. It's old, got a few torn
stitches, and at least one small hole, but the plastic windows are clear and
it's paid for. And for the most part, it keeps me dry.
Here's my problem: The top doesn't fit around the windows very well. It
curves upward from the windshield back to the hood sticks and leaves a gap
over the window. The gap varies in size to almost 1-inch in the center of
the window. This is on both the drivers and passenger sides of the car. I
don't have any structural supports etc. from the hood sticks to the
windshield, just fabric.
So here's my questions:
Do I need a new top? I'd really hate to spend $$$ just to have the new top
do the same thing. But if that's the remedy, then that's what I'll need to
do.
Another thought is that maybe I'm putting the top on incorrectly. I've
never met anyone in person who has one of these so this is a method I more
or less made up:
1) Place the top bow in the mounts with the bow folded and the vertical
catches collapsed.
2) Insert the top's "flap" into the slot above the windshield.
3) Snap it down to the corners of the windshield.
4) Stretch the top back over the bow.
5) Fit the rear flat-bar into the deck hooks.
6) Snap down the rear quarters.
7) Unfolding the bow and release the vertical catches, making everything
taught.
8) Knock back a bottle of Shiner Bock since it's taken 20 minutes and a lot
of strain to get this far.
Seems to work, but then, I've got gappy windows...... Any clues would be
appreciated.
Chris
|